I have been decorating cakes for nearly 10 years now and I am admitting a terrible and serious problem. I can make a royal icing rose with the best of them, almost perfect every time, but I can not for the life of me make a butter cream rose. Any idea what in the world I am doing wrong or why I can do one and not the other? 
I'm totally baffled. I have put customers off long enough, and I have a girl now that I simply can not talk into royal icing roses on her wedding cake.
I'm not sure what recipe you're using. I find the wilton class buttercream with all shortening (stiff consistency) to be the best for roses. For a wedding cake you wouldn't want butter in the recipe anyway...
Also make sure your AC is on, lol!
Do you use the wilton method or other method? Maybe others can help more...
You could also try tip 97 instead of 104 to see if you like that...
Hope this helps.
Have you practiced until you have nightmares about roses?
LOL! That is how I learned! I was having such a tough time getting it and decided to go to sleep and try again the next day. All I dreamt about were those stupid roses and wouldn't you know it...the next day on my first try I got it!
Jess
I am also left handed and the instructor was no help--not really her fault. I spend lots of time looking at the little rose video on the wilton site and sitting with the bag and nail and making them until they finally fell into place. I used a whole batch of icing and filled two cookie sheets with roses. Now, most of them turn out. I practiced with little gun drops for the centers for almost a whole cookie sheet and then went to making the middle too. I thought that was helpful. And the gals at work were surprised with gun drops when they ate the roses! 
I think the real key for buttercream is the consistency. It is the hardest thing to get right. For a while my roses were all ragged on the petal edges because my icing was too stiff.
Good Luck
Lera
the video is on the wilton site ...
http://www.wilton.com/decorating/basic/index.cfm
this tells u how to do alot of different things .
making the roses was hard for me too. I watched the wilton video and sat in front of my computer for hours at a time I used the wilton can frosting just to practice. because my frosting wasn't correct and that made it even worse. when you are starting out if the frosting isn't correct it makes it bad trying to learn. Practice, practice and more practice is the key to the roses and frosting. My sister who is a chef keeps telling me that. I know that you will get it. I love the idea of the gum drops also the hersey kisses are good too. goood luck
rande, I feel your pain... I have the same problem, just can't perfect the Wilton Rose. They always come out looking like cabbage tops 
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